Today I review modern furniture store, CB2 in Toronto. I hope that you will find this review helpful and that it may assist you in narrowing down your interior design hunt.
Pros of CB2: Modern, clean furniture, lighting, accessories and all things ‘house’; ‘affordable’; vibrant display; airy loft; relaxed but helpful staff.
Cons of CB2: Limited back end stock; delivery is not included in the price.
Overall experience: Having moved to Toronto in June 2014 first on my ‘to do’ list was to try and make my house a home. The Queen West area of Toronto is known for its unique furniture shops and after scouting out the various haunts, I can highly recommend CB2. A year on with no need for any more furniture, I still find myself strolling into CB2 on a lazy afternoon. I despise shopping so if you knew me, you would appreciate the significance of this statement.
When my husband and I moved from London, England to Toronto, we made sure that our furniture joined us too. Our beautiful mid-century modern was shipped across the Atlantic and six weeks later, our condo was beginning to feel somewhat homely.
The major challenge? Lack of lighting.
Major solution: CB2.
Upon entering the store in Queen Street West, my husband and I were greeted by a laid back but helpful sales assistant. For the sake of this post we will call him John. We explained our brief, showed John photographs of the condo and he gently pointed us in the right direction, pointing out the various pros and cons of each lighting fixture. While this may sound slightly dull, it was a huge help to us to know exactly what types of lighting would work well in our space.
Possibly the most important part of the entire process was that John was helpful, but not over bearing. I have a bit of a ‘thing’ about sales assistants who get too involved or influential in the buying process. Being a Brit, it’s still taking a while for me to adjust to the overly zealous north American sales approach! Two hours later, having reviewed every light in the shop as well as discussed the up-coming stock, I felt confident that not only was I buying stylish and unique fixtures, but that these were made of quality. Delivery was a two week lead time and we found this to be true to the day.
The over all experience for me was superb. Gorgeous stock, great customer service and hassle free delivery. If these are also your values, then check out CB2. You may just find that you become a regular!
Exterior of CB2:
Exterior of CB2 on Queen St West
Love-lamp
Photo of my first CB2 light fixture purchase: the divine rose petal table lamp. Sold out but you can still buy the gorgeous rosie smoke table lamp. While stocks last!
Cool spin on your topic, Katie. CB2 is just down the street from me, so I find myself popping in quite a bit also. I completely agree that their sales staff is so much more laid-back and refreshing than most other staff at other local furniture stores. As the “cooler, younger sibling” to the Crate & Barrel brand, I think the CB2 concept is great in that their designs are more edgy and modern and pieces are clearly created with the tiny size of downtown condos in mind. This is a great example of a brand tweaking things for different demographics and geographies and clearly succeeding at it.
I am new in Toronto and it is sometimes hard to find shops which you like. I like stylish furniture but I couldn’t find anything in Brick and IKEA. Thank you for sharing with this info. Do you know when they have discounts?
Hi Yulia, CB2 is infinitely better than Ikea (in my opinion) but this is reflected in the price. Keep an eye on their website for all their latest sales and discounts!
“I despise shopping so if you knew me, you would appreciate the significance of this statement.” After this statement you had me looking them up. Also glad to see that sales people aren’t too overbearing, I have the same issue though I don’t mind as much when they’re honestly trying to educate you rather than trying to upsell, though upon reflection unless you have some background it’s sometimes difficult to tell the difference. Great review.
Katie, thanks a lot for such an honest review. I like online shopping when we are talking about house décor. My preferences are those just because I don’t like being advised a lot by the sales consultants. But after reading your review I really want to visit that store, especially considering that I’ve being passing it by a few times. And your new lamp looks really cool ☺
Great work. I am going to recommend this store to a couple of people I know that are looking for more lighting for their apartments. Also everyone likes to hear about hassle free delivery. Keep up the great work.
Oh Katie, now you have me in the mood to do some shopping! Great post, I personally really like unique items for my living space and it seems CB2 has a great collection. Unlike you I absolutely love shopping, toss in a few great sales people and I’m in heaven! Thanks for the great review.
Cool spin on your topic, Katie. CB2 is just down the street from me, so I find myself popping in quite a bit also. I completely agree that their sales staff is so much more laid-back and refreshing than most other staff at other local furniture stores. As the “cooler, younger sibling” to the Crate & Barrel brand, I think the CB2 concept is great in that their designs are more edgy and modern and pieces are clearly created with the tiny size of downtown condos in mind. This is a great example of a brand tweaking things for different demographics and geographies and clearly succeeding at it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for taking the time to read my post Johnny and I definitely agree that the style is perfectly designed for the downtown condo.
LikeLike
I am new in Toronto and it is sometimes hard to find shops which you like. I like stylish furniture but I couldn’t find anything in Brick and IKEA. Thank you for sharing with this info. Do you know when they have discounts?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Yulia, CB2 is infinitely better than Ikea (in my opinion) but this is reflected in the price. Keep an eye on their website for all their latest sales and discounts!
LikeLike
“I despise shopping so if you knew me, you would appreciate the significance of this statement.” After this statement you had me looking them up. Also glad to see that sales people aren’t too overbearing, I have the same issue though I don’t mind as much when they’re honestly trying to educate you rather than trying to upsell, though upon reflection unless you have some background it’s sometimes difficult to tell the difference. Great review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the kind words Niko and it sounds like you also despite shopping, so if you ever have to buy furniture, cb2 may be a good ‘first step’!
LikeLike
Katie, thanks a lot for such an honest review. I like online shopping when we are talking about house décor. My preferences are those just because I don’t like being advised a lot by the sales consultants. But after reading your review I really want to visit that store, especially considering that I’ve being passing it by a few times. And your new lamp looks really cool ☺
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great work. I am going to recommend this store to a couple of people I know that are looking for more lighting for their apartments. Also everyone likes to hear about hassle free delivery. Keep up the great work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh Katie, now you have me in the mood to do some shopping! Great post, I personally really like unique items for my living space and it seems CB2 has a great collection. Unlike you I absolutely love shopping, toss in a few great sales people and I’m in heaven! Thanks for the great review.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Aleecia, did you take the plunge and do any online shopping!? I’m glad this post inspired you .Happy shopping!
LikeLiked by 1 person
0 Pingbacks
Recent posts
Recent comments
Archive
META